108 Things This Writer Is Grateful For

Several years ago one of the spiritual teachers I’ve been blessed with, Rev. Guy Williams, challenged a class I was in to daily list 100 things we were grateful for. We all gasped!. Each one of us was familiar with Oprah or someone else suggesting writing out three things or five things we were grateful for, but 100?

The next morning I struggled but managed to list 100 things. I was amazed. It actually only took about 20 or 30 minutes and during that day I kept finding other things I was grateful for.

I did it again the next day. Sure there was quite a bit of duplication, but there were new things as well.

After awhile I switched to just saying what I was grateful for rather than writing them down, but I kept losing track. Finally I realized I had a set of mala beads – roughly the Buddhist rosary. Mine has 108 beads and I found I could count off my gratitude list that way, one bead at a time.

The practice of 108 has worked so well for me over the years I want to share it with you and challenge you to list 108 things you’re grateful for.

It’s really wonderful what happens to my attitude when I do this practice.

1. Sunshine
2. MzTiz, my tabby cat
3. The remembrance ceremony on Alcatrez Island by Native Americans on behalf of Mother Earth and Social Justice
4. KPFA.org, part of Pacifica Radio, that broadcasts things like the ceremony on Alcatraz and Democracy Now.
5. The internet, no matter who invented it.
6. My broadband connection.
7. Electricity that comes right to my home to do so many things.
8. The natural gas which also comes right to my home for cooking and heating.
9. Wooden floors.
10. Energy efficient windows – I had no idea how well they worked.
11. Running water, again right to my house even though I live in a mostly desert.
12. Hot water – one of the world’s best inventions imo.
13. My computer.
14. My ability to write
15. My ability to write for a living as a freelancer
16. Various 12 step programs
17. Learning to meditate.
18. Meditating almost every day.
19. That I can read.
20. Libraries.
21. Books.
22. Paper.
23. Printing.
24. Book binding.
25. Email
26. The web.
27. Web editors.
28. Blogging software.
29. Readers of my blog
30. Greer
31. Gary
32. Cait
33. Linda
34. Mike
35. Steve
36. Gloria
37. Stacey
38. Chris
39. Chris S.
40. Cole
41. Valerie
42. Emily
43. Ben
44. My mom
45. My dad
46. Gail
47. The rugs I bought from Craigslist – love all three of em.
48. M;y small corner desk.
49. The study of Buddhism I’m involved in.
50. Atasha
51. Deshe
52. Tom
53. Keven
54. Dr. K.
55. My other doctor with her unpronounceable name.
56. The vets who take such good care of MzTiz.
57. The artichoke plant in my yard that is so generous.
58. The rosemary that thanks me with fragrance every time I water it.
59. The ants that are teaching me impeccable housekeeping.
60. The clothes line that I use.
61. That the air here is clean enough to use a clothes line.
62. Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow night.
63. Living Compassion
64. My car
65. The fact my car is paid for
66. The garage
67. The washer and dryer
68. The stove
69. The refrigerator.
70. The composter that was here when I got here.
71. The roses outside my office window.
72. The bush/tree with pansy-like purple flowers.
73. The ocean – a short drive away.
74. Kayaking
75. My mastermind group
76. Vajrarupini Buddhist Center
77. Sweetwater Zen Center
78. Gasoline
79. Car repair folks
80. Trader Joes
81. Henry’s
82. Vons
83. North Park Farmers Market
84. North Park – my neighborhood
85. Mission Bay
86. Amtrak
87. The streets, alleys, freeways and other infrastructure that serves me so well.
88. My clients
89. My gym
90. NPR
91. Office supply stores
92. Amazon
93. My computer guy
94. BN.com
95. Craigslist
96. Peets Coffee
97. My printer
98. My telephone
99. My books
100. My book cases
101. Flushing toilets
102. The irrigation system on the property I live on.
103. Quiet neighbors
104. The police
105. The fire department
106. The local hospitals
107. Medicare
108. Recyling

There you go. Took about 45 minutes, mostly because of the links I added.

Have a great holiday full of gratitude wherever you are.

Write well and often,

Two newsletters:
Abundant Freelance Writing - a resource for freelance writers including 3x a week job postings.
Writing With Vision - for those who want to get a book written.

Image from http://www.sxc.hu

Related Posts:

• 3 Reasons Writing A Rough Draft Is The First Step
• Yeah, So I Sent The Wrong File…
• Freelance Writer Gets Criticism
• 8 Non-Writing Blogs To Get You Out Of A Rut – Resource Roundup Tuesday
• International Women’s Day Can Spark Writing Ideas

Tagged as: freelance writing